Far Cry 3
2012 · Ubisoft Montreal
Has it aged?Why ↓
Far Cry 3 is a first-person, open-world shooter where tourist Jason Brody fights pirates across the tropical Rook Islands to rescue his captured friends. The real attraction is choosing how to take their outposts: mark guards, disable alarms, or free a caged tiger and deal with whatever survives.
Stranded on the Rook Islands as Jason Brody, fight your way through a lawless tropical open world using a powerful arsenal to save your friends and escape the madness of this acclaimed visceral FPS.
The publisher’s description, from its Steam store page.
What it looks like
the trailer, then the store's own shots
The verdict
Play it for attacks you can improvise, not a hero you can admire. Stealth, spreading fire and roaming predators make clearing an outpost feel like solving a problem rather than following orders. Those systems have aged better than the story: Jason's transformation from frightened tourist to island saviour is hard to stomach, and the scripted missions restrict the freedom that makes the island worth exploring.
Play it if
You scout a base before entering, prefer a silenced weapon, and keep a shotgun for the moment your careful plan collapses. You enjoy abandoning the main objective to climb a radio tower or try a hang-glider.
Skip it if
Anyone who needs a protagonist they respect, or would stop at the white-outsider-saves-the-islanders framing. Hunting and skinning animals for equipment upgrades is also central enough to rule this out if that disgusts you.
Common questions
- What do radio towers and captured outposts unlock?
- Radio towers reveal map objectives and unlock weapons at shops. Captured outposts provide safehouses and reduce enemy presence in the surrounding area.
- Why am I hunting animals to make a bigger wallet?
- Animal skins are materials for equipment upgrades, including expanding your wallet's capacity. Hunting is part of improving what Jason can carry, not just a separate diversion.
- Which console version of Far Cry 3 should I choose?
- Choose Far Cry 3: Classic Edition for the announced 2026 console upgrade: Ubisoft scheduled its 60fps update for 21 January 2026.
- What happened to Far Cry 3's online modes?
- A 2023 revisit found the online servers defunct, with a failed connection prompt appearing when opening the crafting menu once per play session. Don't choose it for online play.
What everyone else said
we link, we don't reprintHas it aged?
How does it hold up today? Based on recent reviews, how opinions have changed since launch, player activity and updates.
% positive each month, last 4 years.
Reviews via Steam ↗Peak: 8.8k in Dec 2012.
Player counts via SteamCharts ↗Less liked than at launch.
No update in the last year.